>> Saturday, August 12, 2017

BAGUIO
CITY – Mauricio G. Domogan said the
local government has been ready to release the P2.7 million payment to affected
landowners of Asin who were affected by the previous operation of the
city-owned Asin minihydro power plants.

Domogan said
the city government had always been ready to release the compensation for the
Asin landowners but they have to iron out their differences so as not to
complicate the situation once the funds will be released to individual
landowners.

Because of
complaints some landowners were not included in list of recipients of the funds
initially submitted to the city, he granted the request of some landowners to
conduct another survey in the area so that those who were not included in the
original list will be included so that the funds available for their
compensation will be equitably distributed to them.

The supposed
payment of the P2.7 million compensation to the landowners who were affected
by operation of the Asin minihydro power
plants was stalled because of the failure of the local legislative body to
condone the claim of the city over the supposed compensation for the
landowners.

“We will
have to undertake another survey to pinpoint those landowners who were not
included in the original list so that they will be included once the survey
results will show that they are part of these that were affected by the
previous operation of the city-owned power plants,” Domogan stressed.

He said
funds for the payment of the compensation of the landowners had been made
available by the local government but it was not released after the city filed
a damage suit against the landowners who allegedly diverted the flow of the
water in the river that affected the continuous operation of the power plants.

He said if
the city deducted its damage claims that amounted to P2.09 million from the
compensation of the landowners, then the landowners should have only received
more than P600,000 which should have been released way back in 2009.

The filing
of damage claims against the landowners who diverted the flow of water in the
Asin river that affected the operation of the minihydro power plants and the
subsequent filing of damage suit against the landowners happened during the
previous administration of the local government.

When Domogan
came back as the city’s local chief executive in 2010, the local government and
the affected landowners agreed to a compromise settlement of the case but the
landowners must still seek the concurrence of the local legislative body on the
compromise agreement which took sometime before being granted.

He
underscored that there is no truth to the claims of some landowners that the
local government does not want to settle its obligations with them because the
funds had always been ready but the affected landowners have to satisfy some requirements
before the payment will be released to them. -- Dexter A. See